Information about the earthquake in Turkey seriously alarmed the authorities, the population, and tourists in Egypt. According to the statements of the Egyptian media, weak shocks as an echo of the strike on Turkey on Monday, February 6, were felt in Cairo and some other provinces, including the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. The news is all the more disturbing to the local authorities since three earthquakes have already been recorded in Egypt since the beginning of the year, while they were small and not so destructive, they shook Cairo and Hurghada quite noticeably. But, as evidenced by centuries-old experience, in case of a strong seismic impact in the Mediterranean, Egypt can easily find itself in a high-risk zone.
According to the statement, the earthquake was felt by residents of Greater Cairo and Delta governorates on Monday. And this is already the third earthquake in Egypt since the new year. On Friday, February 4, residents and tourists of Hurghada felt a small tremor, but it was probably too weak to alarm them. The media also claim that last Wednesday, January 25, there was an earthquake with a magnitude of 6 on the Richter scale, which was felt by a large number of residents of Greater Cairo, but it lasted for a few seconds. It happened near the northern shores of Egypt under the Mediterranean Sea.
The Egyptian mass media remind us that from the beginning of 2023, “tremors” will be “shaking” in various parts of the world, including the United States, the islands of the Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea, and China. But the most dangerous region is, of course, the Mediterranean.
Reference: The “historical record” of earthquakes in Egypt is relatively new since 1859. Then a terrible earthquake on October 12 — whose power in the epicenter reached 8.3 points, according to sources — “swept” across the Mediterranean. On the island of Crete, where the epicenter was located, the consequences were terrible, it was felt from Italy to the Middle East and North Africa. Cairo was also under attack – houses were destroyed, canals were blocked, and at least 10 people died – probably much more, but statistics are not available. Alexandria and other settlements on the coast were also affected.
Almost a century later, in September 1959, the Alexandria earthquake with a magnitude of 6.3 was recorded, nearly 500 buildings were destroyed, 18 people died and about 30 were injured. Then, in 1969, Sharm-el-Sheikh was “shaken”. The next seismic disaster occurred almost in our time, in 1992, the so-called Dahshur earthquake or the Cairo earthquake. The power was 5.8 points, but the main destruction fell on the densely populated suburbs of Cairo and neighboring provinces. As a result, 561 people died and more than 12,000 were injured.
So, overall, Egypt has a lot to worry about. Cairo itself is located in a fault zone, as is Antalya. By the way, the Red Sea, beloved by our tourists, is also considered an earthquake hazard zone.